>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. these are the stories we are following for you, the battle in ukraine shifting to the south as prorussian and anti-russian protesters scuffle in the streets. a sentence for those men convicted of killing a british socialed in brood daylight. and executives from credit suisse facing acquisitions of helping americans evade their taxes. ♪

we begin with a divided ukraine, protesters are in the streets of the country's east where many there favor ties with russia, while in kiev they are picking a new cabinet. the riot police have now been disbanned, but the country teters on the merge of economic collapse. jennifer glasse is live from kiev. >> this city is 90% russian, it has been russian based since the 18th century, and still is. the people here very unhappy with development in kiev. so you feel left out? you feel like they didn't ask you? >> yeah, yeah, they just follow they -- they direction. we are staying aside, yeah.

but now we will fight. >> reporter: and they are really unhappy about the fact that kiev made ukrainian the official language just a couple of days ago. 90% of the people here speak russian, many are ethnic russians. so very, very angry about what is happening in kiev. they appointed their own mayor he is not a ukrainian citizen at all, he is russian. they say we are going to find our own path. >> reporter: and a big problem in ukraine is money. now russia stopping that $15 billion aid package. can the country manage without it? >> well, it needs some money. it was only with that $15 billion aide package that russia gave to ukraine that allowed it to continue on in

2014, it is very, very close to default. the new leadership saying they are going to need $35 billion over the next few years. but nothing can happen until there's a new government in place, because they need somebody -- these international institutions need somebody official to deal with. so we're expecting a new prime minister and cabinet to be appointed tomorrow on thursday here and only then can they move forward on these financial bailouts. the interim president says that ukraine is very close to default. >> and the question still have to be asked where is the former president? >> that's right. he is the most wanted man in ukraine right now. a war rent has been issued for his arrest.

the trail ran cold just a couple of miles up the road del. he left on saturday, kind of hopped around the country, he came down here to crimea, and he was scene on month. his son has a lot of property there. we know that u.s. banks have put a watch on any of his accounts to see if anything has been moving, but the people of ukraine would like to see him arrests so much so that there is a crowd-gathering campaign out there. ukraines can donate as much as they want to kind yanukovych, for a reward, and right now that reward is up to 300,000 dollars. there are some concerns about russia and its next move.

>> reporter: we know that vladimir putin had a meeting with his security council on tuesday at which ukraine was certainly discussed and we know that on wednesday, two of russia's four military districts were put on unexpected high alert, however, there is nothing at the moment that links this military alert with what is going on in ukraine. the military analysts that we have been speaking to here say that this kind of military alert is not uncommon. it's been done six times since february of last year. it's something that the defense minister likes doing to put the military here through its paces. it basically exposes any flaws in the system and allows the military to become more efficient, at least that's the thinking behind it. however, having said that there is no connection between this

military alert and what is going on in ukraine, i think the russian government will be well aware that reminding its rivals and neighbors of russian milita military might at a time when russian influence has just taken a big dent in europe, won't hurt them at all. we wanted to take a look at the ukraine issue through a small town. david has our story. >> reporter: ukraine's border with russia stretches for more than 2,000 kilometers. in this town on the edge of the frontier, the decaying symbols of the soviet union are everywhere. a proud gravestone of a hero of social labor. planted in the middle of rich

farm land there is nothing here to mark the more -- horrors of stalin's policies. the deposing of president yanukovych by protests so far away in kiev, though, has divided opinions even here. >> translator: you call this life? it's not. it's a funny farm. if i had a chance i would have fled to russia. >> translator: europe is important but we cannot cut ties with russia. a lot is dependent on those ties. >> translator: we should fix the country first. we have to build a normal functioning legal system which will serve the people. >> reporter: employment is vanishing from this town along with its young families. every promise of investment by

the old government was broken. the money never came here and it shows. this town once supported a population of 16,000 people but since independence it has been in catastrophic decline. the economy is as frozen as the river that gives it, it's name. by the time this ice thaws, relationships with moscow right be facing a deep freeze. as the light began to fade we were forced out of the town. our taxicab driver has received death threats for carrying journalists. the old saying is true, a picture is worth a thousand words or in this case tens of thousands of refugees. these are palestinian refugees all lining up for aide.

they are at a refugee camp in damascus. they went to syria trying to escape conflict, and that's when syria's civil war broke out. the commissioner of the united nations ed work relief said he was saddened by what he saw. omar reports from the border. >> reporter: an endless queue of trucks waiting to cross the border from syria into turkey. these drivers have been here for about three weeks. opening and closing the gate depend on security conditions inside syria. and while this man is a city of the oppositions aide office, he has food trucks, baby formula and blankets, and they have been stuck here. >> translator: it is so

difficult to end aid from turkish syrian borders inside. the roads are not safe. we are facing difficulties from all sides. >> reporter: but the infighting is also worrying syrians who use the crossings on a daily basis. >> translator: all of the people are scared. we hope god will solve this issue safely. >> translator: unfortunately security is lost, because each faction have their own interests. we hope they unite. fighting is effecting people's lives, and killing innocent ones. >> reporter: the fighting between al-qaeda splinter group and other rebel group fighting intensified earlier this month. there were three attacks over

the last week alone, that has slowed the flow of goods and aide. and for now they have allowed trucks and people to trickle in and out. on sunday car bomb exploded outside of the hospital in the border town, a former strong hold of the islamic state. three days earlier a car bomb hit the border crossing with turkey, and on february 18th, fighters tried to seize the same crossing, but failed. nearly all border crossings with turkey are under the control of rebel fighters and there is fear the conflict among them will make the situation worse for syrians. pope benedict is denying speculation that he was pressured to resign. he said the decision was his and

his alone. friday marks the anniversary of his resignation. he was the first pope to step down in more than 600 years. the former pope defending his decision to continue wearing the traditional white gash. it was a crime that was has gruesome as public, a british soldier run over and then hacked to death. video showing both men walking around holding the knives they used to commit the crime, never trying to run away or hide their faces. in december they were convicted of murder. today they are learning their fate. as soon as we learn of that sentence, we'll bring it to you live. the head of the credit suisse bank, says none of the executives were aware of americans trying to hide their money to evade taxes.

>> and now the jig is up, you say you want to cooperate but you can't do it because of swiss sec aresy laws. those laws don't apply in the united states. you are operating in the united states. senators credit suisse helped $22 billion from the irs. when we return we'll talk about a situation that happened nine years ago, and concerns about a levy nine years later. ♪

>> and we are following that breaking news coming out of the uk, sentencing for the two men

that killed a british soldier. we are now learning that one of the men has been given life in prison, his accomplice was given a minimum of 45 years. we continue to follow those developments. first arizona now georgia. lawmakers are debating whether to allow that state to sanction discrimination against gays based on their religious freedom. robert ray is live in atlanta. >> reporter: del, good afternoon, there is a delay. there was supposed to be a hearing this morning, within the six state representatives who have brought this bill to the table. and that is a mix of republicans and democrats, so it is split pretty much down the middle. the reason we're not quite sure. there is some push back from local businesses and businesses in georgia on this bill, perhaps looking at the situation in

arizona. they have also said they are looking at new additions to the bill, maybe they just weren't ready to have the hearing. the goal of the bill, brought by a representative here, is to allow any individual or for profit company who believe that homosexuality is a sin to openly discriminate against them by denying them employment or banning then from restaurants or hotels. sam says it is not about discrimination, but religious freedom. >> we have a 20-year legislative history on this issue, and there has not been a case that i'm ware of that that has ever been used and certainly not successfully used. >> reporter: also supporters of this bill are saying that the bill is meant to protect religious free comes to, the mayor of atlanta, who supports the gay and lesbian community

here, a large one, i might add, said this earlier this week. >> it took me sometime to evolve on this issue, i was a long time supporter of civil unions, but i believe in equal protection under the constitution, and gay and lesbian couples should have the same rights that you and i have. >> reporter: delta airlines, one of the largest employers here in the state of georgia, employing 80,000 people internationally and nationwide here came out with a statement saying if passed in to law these proposals would cause significant harm to many people and result in job losses, delta strongly opposes this, they don't want this to happen, del. and head of the aclu here, saying when a bill is moving this fast it certainly has the support of leadership, so he is concerned as many others are that this will pass and cause a

lot of controversy, del? >> when might we see a vote by the legislator there? >> they meet all the way into march, so the vote could happen as soon as next week, as i said this was a fast-moving bill. it was just introduced last week. so we'll keep a close eye, and perhaps they'll get their hearing back in session here tomorrow. but we're waiting for more details. del. >> robert thank you very much. ♪ wall street once again flirting with the record books. the dow is up, and the s&p is also on track after falling short on monday. positive retail earning news putting investors in a buying

food. federal investigators are looking into the failed bitcoin dealer. officials want more information about the nature of cyber attacks that caused the company to shut down earlier this month. mortgage applications sank last week by 8.5%. they normally see an increase in demand this year. they say demand for new mortgages dropped to their lowest level since 1995. jason colin's jersey a very hot item. he signed that 10-day contract with the brooklyn nets on sunday. yesterday his jersey was the best seller. topping the sale of those like lebron james and kevin durant.

president obama traveling to minnesota today focusing on improving america's infrastructure. the president wants to invest billions of dollars to upgrade the country's bridges, highways, and transit systems [ technical difficulties ] and 1400 deaths the new 350-mile levy system already having its share of problems. ben has more. >> everything good? did you enjoy? look at that beautiful white fish. >> reporter: this restaurant in mid-city new orleans is known for its seafood. >> these are really nice, 16, 20 shrimp. >> reporter: but while the gulf gives it also takes away. it took owner scott craig nearly

five years to reopen after the storm surge from hurricane katrina flooded him out. >> i had to go out and work, rebuild and just put all of the money i made working back into this. >> reporter: because new orleans exists from 2 to 20 feet below sea level in different areas. the army corps of engineers has built a new 350-mile levy system to protect the city. >> when a storm or hurricane comes up from the gulf of mexico, it could potentially come right through here. >> and right here there is already a problem. a near one-mile stretch of levy has already sunk up to 6 inches more than expected. >> we're continually subsiding. the sursurface is composed of different layers that are very challenging to build on. >> reporter: most new orleans

residents know that just a few inches means a lot to get an idea of the shifting landscape in this city, all you have to do is take a ride. what is the guarantee? >> there is no guarantees in anything. but what we can point to is 2012 we had hurricane isaac, the system did exactly what it was supposed to do. >> when you ask me questions about the levy system, i don't think we have a whole lot of faith, a lot of us don't, because i am petrified of losing this again. i really don't want to go through what we went through. >> reporter: right now the army corps is repairing the sinking levies, but soon they are turn over the responsibility to the

state. >> we're going to try to put in instruments to measure the subsidence. >> reporter: scott craig is grateful for the protection but worries nonetheless. >> at least the state of louisiana has a stake in it. it's not another part of the country controlling what is going on in our state. the state of louisiana is well aware of what could happen if these levies fail again. the greatest city in this state probably won't come back. >> reporter: he and others here hope the engineering promises will hold. when we return to al jazeera america, have you ever wanted to play chess against a grand master? well now there's a way. we'll explain when we come back.

welcome back to al jazeera america. i'm del walters. here are your headlines.

updating that breaking news coming out of the uk, those two men who did this, killing a british soldier in brood daylight last year now have learned their fate. one being sentenced to life in prison, the other 45 years. in december they were convicted of running lee rigby over with a car and then hacking him to death. ukraine protesters are back in the streets today. russia is conducting military drills on its border, but claim it has nothing do with any developments in you yan. the un saying the refugee crisis in syria now getting worse. these are palestinians who went to syria trying to escape violence before civil war in that country broke out. today the world health

organization calling the air pollution in china concerning. manufacturing plants had to stop work and demolition was halted as well. even barbecues and fireworks have been banned until the smog lifts. for more on that, and the arctic air blast we're feeling, we turn to dave warren. that's nasty mess in china. >> yeah, but it is getting a little better. a front is moving through so that will help the situation there, but often when you get areas of high-pressure, the air doesn't move much, and it has been dry, so that pollution just continues to increase each day. what we have decreasing is the temperatures now. this is the northern plains. this is a blizzard warning. that will reduce the visibility

and increase wind gusts. fargo, minneapolis into the teens below zero. light snow is clearing out now, maybe one or two inches of snow came down, but things will gradually improve -- quickly i -- improve i should say. this storm will move out, that area of low-pressure coming down from canada, a little light snow across the great lakes, but low and high-pressure close together. that's what is creating that gusty wind and bringing in that arctic air. >> international chess champ challenging the world to a match. he is launching a smartphone app. it allows users to play and possibly beat him at his own game. but good luck. it has all of his moves dating

back to when he was just five years of age. probably he just wants to beat you. thanks for watching al jazeera america. i'm del walters in new york. "the stream" is next. ♪ >> hi i'm lisa fletcher, and you are in stream. is hollywood stuck in a time warp? when you watch a movie, you barely know that america looks ago. ♪ the entertainment industry eagerly awaits vanity fair's annual hollywood